The American Cancer Society reports that an estimated 12,550 women in the United States will die from endometrial cancer in 2022. Endometrial cancer is one type of uterine cancer, common cancer that will, by ACS estimates, affect nearly 66,000 women in 2022.
Doctors and health professionals do not fully understand uterine cancer or how it develops. However, recent research has identified hair straightening products and the chemicals contained in them as potential causes of uterine cancer. Contact a personal injury lawyer if you or a loved one is suffering from it.
Examples of Hair Straightening Products
As their name suggests, hair straightening products straighten wavy or curly hair to achieve a straighter, smoother appearance. This transformation happens when chemicals in the products react with hair. Unfortunately, these chemicals can also interfere with the body’s hormone production system.
The list of chemicals found in these products that can have such an effect includes:
- Triclosan
- Parabens
- Cyclosiloxanes
- Diethanolamine
- Sodium hydroxide
You can find these and other similar chemicals in various hair straightening and hair relaxing products. Some of the more popular products that use one or more potentially hazardous chemicals include the following:
- Bantu
- TCB
- TCB Naturals
- Just for Me
- Ultra Precise
- Soft & Beautiful
Hair straighteners are also known as hair relaxers. You can find these and other similar products in various retail establishments nationwide. This comes in a product liability case because you get harmed through a product.
What Is Uterine Cancer?
Uterine cancer affects a woman’s reproductive organs, specifically the uterus. There are two types of uterine cancer: endometrial and uterine sarcoma.
Uterine sarcoma is rare, but it can grow quickly and spread to other body parts. This form of uterine cancer affects the muscles of the uterus that cause the uterus to contract during childbirth or during a premenopausal woman’s monthly period.
Endometrial cancer is the more common form of uterine cancer that doctors and patients encounter in the United States. In this case, cancer affects a woman’s endometrium, or the tissue lining her uterus.
One type of endometrial cancer tends to remain localized and not spread, but another form can metastasize and spread to other body parts.
You have a significant chance of surviving either type of uterine cancer if you and your doctor can detect, diagnose, and treat it before it spreads to other body parts. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that a woman’s survival rate is 95% when uterine cancer gets identified in an early stage and before it spreads to other areas of the body.
That survivability rate drops to 17% if uterine cancer has metastasized, or grown and spread to other areas of the body.
How I Knew I Had Uterine Cancer?
The most common symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding. This can include heavy or prolonged periods, bleeding between periods, post-menopausal bleeding, or any other irregular bleeding. Some women with uterine cancer may experience pelvic pain, which can range from mild discomfort to sharp, persistent pain.
Connection Between Hair Straighteners and Uterine Cancer
Products containing chemicals that block or interfere with the production and absorption of hormones can lead to a hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body. This imbalance, specifically an imbalance in the hormones estrogen and progesterone, can lead to the development of one or more forms of cancer, including uterine cancer.
In October 2022, researchers published the results of an extensive study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This study examined more than 30,000 women and their risks of developing uterine cancer based on their use of hair straightening products.
The study found that the risk of developing cancer doubled among those study participants who used hair straightening products and hair relaxers at least four times per year.
Another takeaway from the study was that Black women in particular are at risk of developing uterine cancer from hair straightener products. Black women are more likely to use hair straightening products and hair relaxers on a regular basis.
This increased use of hair relaxers and straighteners means that Black women’s risk of developing uterine cancer from these products is double that of women who do not regularly use such beauty items.
Paying for the Treatment of Uterine Cancer
Your doctor has several treatment methods available to use if you develop uterine cancer. These methods include a hysterectomy or removal of the uterus. Depending on the severity of your case, your medical provider may also remove your cervix during this operation.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also standard treatment options for uterine cancer.
Some women struggle to afford the expenses associated with these treatment options. A hair straightener uterine cancer lawsuit might secure financial damages to pay for your treatment needs.
Through a hair straightener uterine cancer lawsuit, you could receive compensation for your past and ongoing medical expenses and the wages you could not earn because you were undergoing treatment for your condition.
A young woman from Missouri filed the first hair straightener uterine cancer lawsuit in Illinois court against beauty product manufacturer L’Oréal and other defendants.
The woman alleged that chemicals found in L’Oréal’s hair straightener products caused her to develop uterine cancer when she was 28 and undergo a total hysterectomy before she turned 30.
Others with similar stories are coming forward and seeking to hold the manufacturers of these products accountable for the damage their products cause.
What You Need to File a Hair Straightener Uterine Cancer Lawsuit
To file a claim and be able to seek damages, your doctor should have diagnosed you with uterine cancer, and you must either be undergoing treatment or anticipating treatment.
Additionally, you must have regularly used a hair straightener or relaxer with one or more chemicals that interfere with hormonal activity before receiving your diagnosis.
Where to Get More Information and Experienced Assistance with Your Case
If you recently received a diagnosis of uterine cancer and are a regular user of chemical hair straightening products, you may have a case and legal rights to compensation.
Contact The Joel Bieber Firm immediately and allow us to evaluate your case further. If you’re eligible, we will help you fight for justice and the financial damages you deserve.
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